WHO Executive Board announces the names of the 3 nominees for the post of WHO Director-General

Just to bring everyone up to date on the WHO DG selection process, today (24 January), the WHO Executive Board will select five of the six candidates for interviews on Wednesday, 25 January. The three candidates that will stand in the May election will then be announced on Wednesday evening. The decision will be made by WHO’s Executive Board, made up of representatives of 34 member states, and will be followed in May by a final vote by WHO’s 194 member states.

According to Science Magazine (http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/01/wanted-leader-toughest-job-global-health) “Six countries have fielded candidates to succeed Margaret Chan, the former Hong Kong, China, health official who is stepping down after 10 years at the helm. Among the top contenders, many say, is former Ethiopian Health Minister Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The African Union has declared its support for him and some observers have suggested it’s time for WHO’s first director-general from the African continent. Another candidate widely seen as having good chances is David Nabarro, a physician nominated by the United Kingdom who has worked at WHO in various positions and was appointed the United Nations’ senior coordinator on Ebola in 2014. The other candidates are Pakistani cardiologist Sania Nishtar; former French Health Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy; Hungary’s former minister of health, Miklós Szócska; and WHO’s assistant director-general for family, women’s and children’s health, Flavia Bustreo from Italy.

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The WHO Executive Board selected by vote the following 3 candidates to be presented to World Health Assembly as nominees for the post of Director-General of WHO.

Five candidates were interviewed by Member States today prior to the vote. The names of the 3 nominees were announced at a public meeting on Wednesday evening, 25 January 2017.